EARTH SCIENCE
REVIEW
(Fill-In)
Name: ________________________________
1
Topic 1: Earth’s Dimensions: Layers of the Earth, Latitude/Longitude, Contour Maps
(ESRT p 14, 15)
Layers of Earth
Lithosphere


Solid (made of crust and
rigid mantle)
Silicon and Oxygen
Most abundant in crust;
form pyramid shape (SiO tetrahedron).
Hydrosphere

LIQUID (oceans)
Atmosphere

GAS, broken down into 4
layers:
TROPOSPHERE is
closet to sea level and
contains water vapor
Stratosphere contains
the ozone layer


Earth Dimensions
Shape of the earth

OBLATE SPHEROID
Altitude of Polaris equals your:

NORTHERN LATITUDE
(be able to use NYS map
to find altitude of Polaris)
Latitude lines run horizontal
across like the equator
Longitude lines run up and
down

0- 90 North or South
of Equator
0- 180 East and West
of the Prime Meridian
Same line of longitude
= same time
Time zones are
separated by 15 of
longitude based on
Earth's Rotation
Going to the west
(California) time gets
earlier, going east it gets
later (London)




2
Topographic Maps
Isoline


Line connecting points of
equal value
Isobars- PRESSURE

Isotherm- TEMPERATURE

Contour- ELEVATION
Tick Marks

DEPRESSION, the first tick
marked line is the same
elevation as adjacent
contour line
Contour Interval


Amount between contour
lines. C.I. - __20____
Ocean is sea level 0
Lines close together=

STEEP GRADIENT
Direction of streams


Water goes downhill
Opposite bends in contour
lines
Gradient

= Change in Field Value
Distance
Units: Feet (ft)/miles (mi)
OR meters (m)/kilometers

Calculate gradient from A to B.
120m – 90m = 10m/km
3 km
3
Know how to make gradient
profile
Topic 2: Rocks and Minerals (ESRT pages are huge here, Rock pages on 6, 7, 16 and top of 11)
Minerals
Definition

Mineral Properties are due to:
Solid, naturally occurring,
inorganic (not living)
substances
INTERNAL
ARRANGEMENT OF
ATOMS
Calcite bubbles with

ACID

Rocks made of calcite
(marble, limestone,
dolostone) also bubble.
Mineral Tests
CLEAVAGE
STREAK
HARDNESS
Luster

How light is reflected:
metallic (looks like a metal)
4
Hardness



Resistance to scratching (110)
Soft- can’t scratch glass
(less than 5.5)
Hard- can scratch glass
Cleavage

Flat sides on a mineral,
mineral breaks along planes
of weak bonding
Streak

Powder form of a mineral, as
found by using a streak plate
Rock Type determined by
ORIGIN
(way it formed)
Igneous Rocks
Process:
MELTING
From Rock Cycle Chart
COOLING
SOLIDIFICATION_________
Classified by:

Texture is determined based
on:
Rate of cooling & location
Type:
Intrusive (In)
Extrusive (Out)
Molten Material:
MAGMA
LAVA
Cooling Rate:
SLOW
FAST
Texture:
COARSE, VERY COARSE
FINE CRYSTALS, GLASSY,
Texture (grain/crystal size):
o Coarse, fine, vesicular
(gas pockets), glassy
VESICULAR
Sedimentary Rocks
Process:
DEPOSITION, BURIAL
COMPACTION
CEMENTATION
5

Classified by:
Grain Size:
o Pebbles, sand
o Contains Fossils
Metamorphic Rocks
Process:
HEAT AND/OR
PRESSURE
Key words:
Regional Metamorphism
 Foliation
 Re-crystallize
 Distorted
 High density
During Mountain Building
Tectonic processes
Heat and Pressure
Contact metamorphic
rocks found between:
Igneous intrusions and
sedimentary rocks
What rock forms at point
A?
Parent rocks:


shale metamorphoses
into hornfels during
contact metamorphism
– not slate
sandstone into
quartzite
limestone into marble
6
Topic 3: Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes (ESRT pages 5, 10, 11)
Earthquakes
Evidence of plate tectonic
theory (continental drift ):



Earthquakes and Volcanoes
occur along:
Definition of Earthquake:
Crustal plate boundaries
Continents fit together
Rock and fossils match
Evidence of ancient glaciers
& tropical forests
Sudden movement along a fault,
usually happens at plate
boundaries
Types of Waves:
Speed:
Go through:
Motion:
P- WAVES
FAST
SLOW
SOLIDS, LIQUIDS, GASES
SOLIDS
COMPRESSION
SHEAR – UP AND DOWN
Time difference between P
Distance to epicenter – time
and S waves gives us
difference with tick marks
1 Seismic Station determines:
Distance to the epicenter (Not
Direction – can be any point on
the circle)
Epicenter- where earthquake
occurred (Big circles  far
distance)
3 Seismic Stations determine:
S- WAVES
Type of Crust:
Continental
Oceanic
Rock
GRANITE
BASALT
Density
LOW (2.7)
HIGHER (3.0)
Thickness
THICK
THIN
Age
OLDER
YOUNGER
7
Plate Tectonics
Convection currents cause:
Convection currents are
located in:
Convection currents move
due to:
Hot Spot:
Plates to move
ASTHENOSPHERE
DENSITY DIFFERENCES
Mantle plume through the
middle of a plate, like Hawaii or
Iceland
Divergent Boundary
Plate movement:

MOVING AWAY
What is being formed:


Spreading Center
RIDGES / RIFT VALLEY

Where magma comes up
through the sea floor NEW
CRUST is created at mid
ocean ridges

Age of rock increases as
distance from ridge
increases (youngest at
ridge)
Reversal of magnetic
polarity
Evidence:

8
Convergent Boundary
Plate movement:
What is being formed:


MOVING TOWARDS
TRENCHES W/
SUBDUCTION
Which plate subducts (sinks):

Mountains (Two continents
collide  Mt. Everest
(Himalayas)

More dense plate (oceanic)
Transform Boundary
Plate movement:
SLIDE PAST ONE
ANOTHER
What is being formed:
Preparation
Earthquake

FAULT



Create an action plan
Learn first aid
Make buildings stronger
GO IN REINFORCED
DOOR
Volcano
Tsunami
EVACUATION ROUTE
Get to higher elevation
Get away from shoreline
9
Topic 4: Weathering, Erosion, Deposition, and Landscapes
(ESRT p.6, p. 2 Landscapes)
Weathering
Weathering is
BREAK DOWN
ROCK SMALLER
PIECES
Physical weathering
Rocks become smaller
and rounder in a stream
due to abrasion
 Frost action  water
seeps in crack,
freezes and expands
 Climate: Cold and
Wet (humid)
Chemical
Weathering


CHANGES THE
CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION
Examples: rust, cave
formation due to acid
rain.
Climate: Warm and
Wet
Soil
Definition:
Mixture of weathered
rock and organic
remains (bugs) that
covers bedrock
Transported Soils
Residual Soils
Soil different from bedrock
below
Matches to rock layers
10
Streams
Discharge
Volume of water in a
stream
Velocity of river
determined by:


Slope and Discharge.
As slope increases,
velocity increases

As discharge increases,
velocity increases
Delta forms when:


River enters a body of
water.
More deposition when:
velocity slows down
Watershed/ Drainage
Basin
Land area that drains into a
river.
How sediments are
carried:



Erosion agents
Smallest particles are
carried by suspension
Salt by solution
Largest sizes bounce &
roll on river bed –
abrasion
Gravity, Water, wind,
glaciers,
Driving force of erosion :

Gravity
Wind erosion causes:

Sand dunes

Windward side of a sand
dune has a gentle slope

Mushroom rocks
11
Deposition

In a stream where does
erosion occur:
When an agent of
erosion slows down and
drops sediment
These sediments are
deposited first:
o Rounder
o Denser
o Larger

Outside of curve

Greater velocity

Deeper (slope steep
on that side of the
channel
In a stream where does,
deposition occur:
Glaciers
Evidence:

Inside of curve

Slower water velocity

Shallower

U-shaped valley

Unsorted and
unlayered
sediments

Scratched
bedrock
(striations)

Erratics(large
boulders).
Steep side of a
drumlin indicates:
Direction the glacier
advanced from
(usually north).
Kettle Lake forms
when
Ice is wedged into
ground creating a
hole, fills with water.
12
Landscape Regions
Determined Climate, bedrock, and geologic structures
by:
Region
Elevation
Bedrock
Mountains
High
Distorted (metamorphic Rock)
Plateaus
High to medium
Horizontal (sedimentary rock)
Plains
Low
Horizontal (sedimentary rock)
Drainage
Pattern
Where stream flows
 Match to landscape
5. History of the Earth (ESRT p. 8-9, p. 1 (radioactive decay))
Half-Life


Definition
Determines age of rocks
The time it takes for 1/2
the unstable atoms to
decay into stable atoms
Uranium 235
Dates old rocks
Carbon 14
Dates recent living objects
If you crush a rock, can it
change the half-life?
NO
13
Rock Layers
Undisturbed
layers
Unconformity
Bottom layer is the oldest
Law of Superposition
Erosion (time gap in layers).
Intrusions and
faults are
younger than:
The rock they are in.
Marine fossils Uplifted land.
on a
mountaintop
indicate:
Observe
If a rock layer has tick marks on it, it is
contact
older than the intrusion.
metamorphism
to determine
relative age of
layers.
*Be able to tell
the difference
between
folding,
faulting, and
tilting of rock
layers*
14
Volcanic Ash
Index fossils
Good time marker because it spreads
out quickly over a large area
Good time markers: criteria
1. Widespread geographically
2. Short-lived
Letter that is a good index fossil C
Geologic History
How did our atmosphere
form?

And what gas did we need to
have life (animals) on earth? 
Precambrian Time Period is
4 billion years long. What
type of life existed?

From outgassing of
volcanoes (CO2, N2,
H2O)
O2. Algae (plant-like)
organisms turned the
CO2 rich atmosphere
into one containing
O2.
only simplest life
forms existed
Life evolved from:
Asteroid Impacts are thought 
to cause:



Simple to complex
organisms
Mass extinctions
Dinosaurs died 65
million years ago
Asteroids leave
behind large craters
in the Earth’s crust.
15
6. Weather (ESRT p. 12 &13)
Weather Instruments
Weather Variable
Weather Instrument
Air Pressure
Barometer
Temperature
Thermometer
Dew Point/ Relative Humidity
Sling Psychrometer
Wind Direction
Wind Vane
Wind Speed
Anemometer
Air Pressure or Barometric Pressure:
Pressure:
High
Low
Air sinks - more dense
Air rises - less dense
Clouds
No
Yes
Precipitation
No
Yes
Hoc
Licc
Temp.
Air movement
16
Winds
Caused by:


Winds blow from:
High to Low pressure
Isobars close together=
Fast Wind Speed
Sea Breeze:


Daytime
Ocean is cold (High Pres.)
 land is hot (Low Pres.)
Land Breeze:


Night
Land is cold (High Pres.)
ocean is warm (Low Pres.)
Dew Point Temperature:

The temperature at which
the air is saturated (filled)
with water
When the air temperature=
100% Relative Humidity
Uneven heating of earth
Differences in Air Pressure
Weather Variables
dew point temperature
Relative Humidity:
% of water in the air
Condensation forms:
Clouds
Steps of Condensation:

Warm moist air rises,
Condensation nuclei must be
expands, cools to the
present
dewpoint, (100% relative
humidity, condensation
occurs (if nuclei like ash,
dust, salt, pollen)
17
Coriolis Effect
Winds & Ocean Currents
deflected due to Earth’s
Rotation
In Northern Hemisphere,
winds deflect to the
Air mass refers to
Right
Humidity and Temperature over
surface region formed
mT – characteristic and

Warm and wet
source region

Gulf of Mexico, south
Atlantic
cP – characteristic and

Cold and dry
source region

Central Canada
Front
Boundary line between two air
masses (mainly between cP and
mT air masses)
Cold Front
Cold air moving into an area of
warm air
Warm Front
Warm air moving into an area of
cold air
Occluded Front
All weather in the U.S. moves
from west to east or toward
mb Station Models
Ex. 1000.9 mb=
Station Modelmb
 Ex. 600
Northeast
009
960.0 mb
18
Weather Events
Hurricanes
Very large, strong, low-pressure
systems that can last for days.
Preparation for Hurricane:

Tornadoes
Prepare and escape route,
learn first aird, tape or
board up windows, store
food, water, candles
Short-lived (a minute or less)
small in size
Preparation for Tornadoes:
Go into basement
19
7. Energy, Water Cycle and Climate (ESRT p.14)
Energy
Sun (stars) give off
Electromagnetic radiation
(based on wavelength)
Sun radiates Solar Energy:
Shortwave radiation
Gamma, ultraviolet, visible
Earth radiates Heat Energy:
Good absorbers of light:
Longwave infrared radiation
 Dark and rough objects
 Dirt/forest
Good reflectors of light:


Good absorbers of light are
good:
Radiators (black heats up and
cools down quickly)
Specific Heat
High Specific Heat
Resistance to heating
 Longer and more energy
required to heat the object
up.
Which takes longer to heat
up, water or granite?
Conduction

Water

Transfer of energy in solids
Convection

Transfer of energy in liquids
and gases due to
differences in density
Radiation


Transfer of energy in waves
Ex. Solar Radiation
Light and smooth objects
Ice and snow
20
Types of Greenhouse Gases:

Carbon dioxide, water
vapor and methane
Greenhouse gases act as
Glass to trap infrared (they
absorb it and then re-radiate it
back to Earth).
Water Cycle
Water Cycle
Infiltration
Sink in
Infiltration occurs when
land is:

permeable

unsaturated

gentle slope vegetation

not frozen
Run off
Move over the surface of
Earth
Runoff occurs when land
is:

impermeable

saturated

steep slope
What increases stream
discharge?
 frozen ground
Infiltration, Runoff,
Precipitation, Snow melt
Porosity
Percent of empty space in
soil.
Permeability
How fast water flows
through soil.
As grain size increases,
permeability:
increases
21
Capillarity
Upward movement of
water into small spaces
As grain size increases,
capillarity
Climate
Decreases
Climate:
Long term weather for a
location (based on
temperature and rainfall)
As latitude increases,
temperature:
As elevation increases,
temperature:
Compare temperature of
inland cities vs. coastal
cities:
decreases
decreases
Coastal areas have
moderate climates (cool
summer, warm winter) due
to the proximity to water
which has a high specific
heat
Windward vs. Leeward side
of a Mountain
22
8. Astronomy (ESRT p.15)
As angle of insolation
increases, the temperature:
Solar noon occurs when the
sun is:
Celestial Objects (sun, moon,
stars) rise in the ______ and
set in the ______
Zenith is
Increases
Constellations are
Groups of stars near each other
in the sky
Highest in the sky


Rise in the EAST
Set in the WEST
90 overhead
Rotation
Definition:
Hint: Look for words
Spinning on axis
DAILY - HOURLY

Cause:
Day & Night
Rate:
Evidence:
counterclockwise

360/24 hours

15/hour


Foucault Pendulum
Coriolis Effect
Revolution
Definition:
LOOK FOR WORDS
One body orbits around
MONTHLY, YEARLY
another body
Rate:

Evidence:


360/365.26 days (1
year)
1/day
Seasons

Different constellations
seen during the year
23
Know this chart for NY at 42oN latitude.
Approximate
Date
Latitude of
Sun’s Direct
Rays
September 23
(Autumnal
Equinox)
December 21
(Winter
Solstice)
March 21
(Vernal
Equinox)
June 21
(Summer
Solstice)
Direction of
Sunset and
Sunrise
Rises due East
Sets due West
Altitude of
Noon Sun
Duration of
Insolation
48o
12 hours
Rises in SE
Sets in SW
24.5o (lowest)
Long shadow
9 hours
Rises due East
Sets due West
48o
12 hours
Rises in NE
Sets in NW
71.5o (highest)
Short Shadow
15 hours

Is the sun ever 90 directly
over NYS?
If Earth was not tilted, would
there be seasons?

Temperature
cold
warm
NO. Only between the
Tropics.
No
Geocentric Model



Earth-centered
Wrong model
Planets and sun revolve
around earth
Heliocentric Model



Sun-centered
Planets revolve in elliptical
orbits
Sun at one focus
24
If a satellite is close to a star,
orbital velocity is:

Greatest

High gravitational attraction
Eccentricity

Equation:



Earth’s orbit is:

measure of how flattened the
orbit is
highest =1, line
lowest=0, circle
Eccentricity=
distance between foci
length of major axis
Slightly Elliptical
Moon
Moon Phases are caused by
the:
Revolution of the moon around
the earth
One Moon Revolution=
27.3 days
One complete Moon Cycle=
29.5 days
Next full moon August 15-16
Moon Cycle
View from Earth
Solar Eclipses

During New Moon
Lunar Eclipses


During Full Moon Phase
Moon in Earth’s shadow
25
Tides are caused by:

Moons gravitational pull
on the earth
Spring Tide

When Earth, Moon, &
Sun are in line (New/Full
Moon)
Very high tide, Very low
tide

Neap Tide

When the Moon and Sun
are working against each
other we get small tides
(First/Third Quarter)
How many high and low tides
per day?


2 high tides
2 low tides
12 hours apart
Solar System/Universe
Terrestial

1st 4 planets closest to sun

Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars – small rocky
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune – gas giants
Big rock in space
Asteriod belt: between
Mars & Jupiter
Jovian

Asteriod


Meteor



Shooting star
Rock burns up in our
atmosphere
If no atmosphere, no burning
up (moon)
Comet


Dirty Snowball
Highly elliptical orbit
Sun


Star
Burns by converting
Hydrogen into Helium
(Nuclear Fusion)
Age of Our Solar System

4.6 Billion years old
Galaxy

Collection of billions of stars
(solar systems)
26
Our Galaxy


Milky Way (our solar system
is located on one of the spiral
arms)
~10 billion years old
Levels of Organization within
Universe: (from
smallest/youngest to
largest/oldest)
Big Bang Theory

Planet  star solar
Proof of Big Bang
1. Galaxies are moving away
from us (RED SHIFT), the
further the galaxy is from us
the faster it is moving away
system galaxy universe

Universe formed 13 billion
years ago from an explosion
2. Cosmic background radiation
Age of Universe

13.7 billion years old
Light Year

Distance light travels in one
year
27